An Involuntary Break
by thefiresensei
Summary: Kai and Skylor find themselves on an unexpected break from regular ninja duties. But how do you keep a het up fire ninja entertained when they've been forced to relax? Takes place after season 9 so beware of spoilers.
1. Chapter 1

**So this is my first fanfiction piece. I hope you like it! Please review and let me know your thoughts :) Set after Season 9 so contains some spoilers!**

Urgh. Pain shot across my forehead and I immediately screwed my eyes up, trying to block out the blinding light. Urgh.

"Kai?" A gentle, concerned hand fell onto my shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. "Kai? Are you ok?" The voice was as gentle as her hand, and a small smile crept over me along with a warm, fuzzy heat. She was here. I tried again and opened my eyes, slowly this time and narrowed, prepared for the blinding light to hit me. An involuntary gasp escaped me as the pain once again throbbed, no stabbed, across my forehead, but I pushed through as I knew the sight awaiting me would make up for the pain. She was here, and I wanted to see her. To drink her in. Man was I lucky. And there she was, gazing at me through those fabulous, long lashes and with those deep, deep, green eyes. Which were filling with concern. I tried to sit up, but her gentle hand gripped my shoulder more firmly and pushed me back down. "Steady on there champ. Take it easy." I knew better than to fight her, so sank back down into the stiff and slightly uncomfortable pillows. Wait, where was I? And what had happened?

Blinking I took in my surroundings. Stark, white, practical and minimally furnished. Urgh, the medical room. I registered Zane in the corner, tinkering with some bottles of suspect looking medicines and I dimly hoped they were not intended for me. That gentle but strong hand moved from my shoulder to brush a stray strand of spiky hair from my forehead, and my attention quickly moved back to her. Skylor.

"Hey." I finally managed to croak out, and she smiled at me and then rewarded me with the best medicine as she swooped in for a kiss. Her lips tasted of cherries and were so warm and soft...Hmmm...maybe I needed to wake up in the medical room more often...

"How are you feeling" she breathed as she drew back, concern clouding those beautiful green eyes. Truthfully, I was now aware that my right arm was aching, and my head felt like someone had trampled over it then whacked me with Cole's scythe a few dozen times for good measure. But she did not need to know that. Unless...

"Not too good," I whispered, "maybe another one of those would help...?" I flashed her my best, charming, lop sided smile and she laughed, leaning over me as she granted me what I had hoped for, a soft, lingering kiss...mmmm...

A small "ahem", a clearing of a throat and a gentle "ewww" alerted me to the fact that indeed it was now not only Skylor, Zane and myself in the room. My other brothers and my sister, who was grinning ear to ear whilst making mock retching noises at me, were now hanging in the doorway. Laughing, Skylor pulled away and stood up from where she had been sat, precariously balanced on the edge of the tiny medical bed. "That's plenty of that medicine for you today!" she folded her arms, concern lifting from her face and a smile now lighting up her eyes. Pouting at her I smiled, and then grinned at my fellow ninja.

"What happened?" As I asked, Jay immediately looked guilty and then launched into his full speed explanation and jumbled. Something about a training dummy, spinning too fast and coming off its axis, flying across the training yard then hitting me on the head? My hurting brain could not quite keep up with the master of blabber's lightning speed right now, so I just waved him down. "It's ok Jay, you can tell me properly later." He sighed, stepping into the room properly and lightly punching me on the arm (my good arm thank the FSM)

"Just glad you're ok there, bud", lightly smiling as he walked back out. Lloyd then cleared his throat, asking Zane what the prognosis was.

"Well it would appear that Kai has a concussion. Thankfully not a serious one, but I will need to monitor your vitals, Kai," he walked over to me, "periodically to check it does not worsen in its severity." Zane offered a hand to help me sit up fully, which I did, wincing at the pain in my head as I did so. "No training for the rest of the day for you, or the week for that matter." he smiled, "But you must let me know if the pain in your head becomes worse or if you become nauseous". I nodded and sighed, directing a soft "sorry bud" towards Lloyd, who looked up at me with a raised brow and then turned to Cole. They exchanged a look which I could not decipher, then Cole winked at me and left. My heart sank. Now was not the time for me to be out of action. Since all of the issues shall we say with the Sons of Garmadon and the First Realm, we were on high alert for any suspicious activity which could be the oni. I mentally kicked myself, how could I have been so stupid as to get taken out by a loose training dummy?!

"Lloyd, I'll be fine after today. I'lll be more aware of the dummies and whatever Jay is doing with them! I'll..." Lloyd held up a hand and mock scowled at me, stopping me in my tracks.

"Stop! Dont worry yourself, just get yourself better. You and Skylor have been training nonstop. You're tired. We're all tired. "He paused, looking thoughtful. "Why don't you both take a break together, you've earned it." He smiled, winked at me then left the room, whilst I took in a sharp breath and looked at Skylor. A break? I tried to remember the last time I had had a proper break, and for Lloyd to offer one now... I'm not sure I know how to relax! I must have looked bewildered, as Skylor came over, grabbing my hand.

"Hey. Are you ok?" Zane spun round, looking equally concerned, eyes focussing intently as he started to rescan my vitals.

"Yes. I'm good. I just… well... I don't think I know how to take a break!" Skylor grinned.

"Well that, master of fire, I can help you with." as she planted a kiss on my cheek.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2. Thank you so much those of you who have followed my story already! A big yay! And RandomDragon2.0 thank you so much for your kind words. As I've already said, this is my first fanfiction, and the first time I have tried writing in a long while, but I am really enjoying it and you have helped spur me on :)**

 **But onwards with the story. Same day, Skylor's POV.**

"How was I supposed to know it would spin that fast?" As she pushed the heavy oak door to the kitchen open, she could see Jay with his arms folded, mouth set and eyes narrowed at Cole, who was leaning against the fridge, twirling a loose black curl of his hair around his finger whilst holding Jay's defiant gaze.

"You say that like I _meant_ to take him out."

Cole straightened, looking Jay right in the eye.

"I just can't believe that you managed to take out a member of the team before we had even had lunch! And to make matters worse, by deciding to try and make one of the dummies replicate spinjitzu, with your powers, and without telling any of us! Jay, how did you think this would end!?"

But Zane intervened before Jay managed to retort, looking over his shoulder from the kitchen worktop where he was preparing some form of salad.

"I don't believe this was anything other than an unfortunate accident. Although Jay, you may want to recheck your schematics before attempting to electrify another training dummy with quite that much velocity. That was definitely more airjitzu than spinjitzu! Skylor." he noted my quiet entrance, "How is he? Has he given in and gone to sleep?"

The others turned and awaited my response, seemingly anxious.

"Yeah, he's out like a light. He moaned and grumbled but he eventually gave in, either that or that tea you forced him to drink finally got the better of him. He's not a great patient, is he?!"

Nya rolled her eyes. "No, he's the worst. Always has been! Here, grab a seat." gesturing to the end of the table, next to where Kai would normally be sitting no doubt firing some insult off at Jay or Cole whilst waiting for his lunch. It was strange, I had been through so much with Lloyd, Nya and Pix, and when the rest of the ninja returned from the First Realm and some kind of normality started to resettle over us all, they had just been so welcoming. They had been doing everything they could to make me feel like a part of the family, but something was holding me back and I still felt like a guest in the newly rebuilt monastery. I sighed inwardly. It hadn't been so long ago that my life just revolved around my noodle empire, a busy but much more simple life. A warm glow hit me as I my thoughts turned to Kai. He had been around, of course, before all of the chaos of a couple of months back kicked off, but we had struggled to get the relationship off the ground, what with one thing or another going on in his _crazzeee_ life. Smiling to myself, I could imagine him singing that at me, stretching out the _'zeeee'_ with that boundless energy and oh so adorable lop sided grin on his face. And of course me trying to keep Master Chen's going, my little noodle empire. But that was all gone now. Well, not all gone. I still had most of the noodle houses intact, and the majority of my staff had returned to work for me as Ninjago City started to rebuild itself from the rubble once again. But things had changed. My priorities had changed. Absolutely for the better. Yes, I did like that change (Kai's smile flashed at me again in my mind's eye). Aargh, why did I still feel so unsettled then…?

"Penny for your thoughts?" Nya sat down opposite me, smiling but concerned. "You looked a mile away. He'll be ok you know?"

"Oh I know. Although I do think he is going to be the biggest pain in the butt whilst he's supposed to be relaxing, not training." I shrugged, settling into my chair a bit better and grabbing a glass of water from the jug on the table.

"How's that any different to normal?" Jay sniggered, followed by a light "ow" as Nya punched him in the arm. Pixal walked over from the kitchen worktop where she had been helping Zane, placing a batch of freshly baked bread onto the table.

"It is my belief that Kai would benefit from some structure being planned into his break with you, to help alleviate some of his anxiety at not being able to train."

"I would concur with this theory." Zane nodded at Pixal.

Hmmm, I could do that. I knew Ninjago City like the back of my hand, and there was plenty to do to keep anyone, and surely that included slightly het up fire ninjas, occupied. Or did it? Doubt flooded my mind. We hadn't actually managed to get away on many proper dates together. I mean, I do know Kai, I know he is the most passionate and caring person I have come across, and I know he loves spicy food and action movies, and he likes to watch the stars on clear nights. He's a gentleman and a sweetheart underneath his bravado. But, to keep him occupied and _relaxed_ for four whole days. With no training or physical exertion so as not to aggravate his concussion… That suddenly did not seem so easy, and nerves started to kick in.

"Right, I'm going to need help. What kind of things would you suggest then?" I directed my gaze at Cole first, who blanched then suddenly sniggered.

"Hey, do you remember that time he went ice skating on that little ice rink that they open up at Christmas time with Lloyd when he was little?" Lloyd sniggered, the memory obviously coming back to him.

"Oh man," Lloyd was nearing hysterics now. "I so wanted to go but you all made out you were busy, so I nagged and nagged at him until he eventually gave in." I leaned in, eager to hear how this one turned out. I had seen Kai's spectacular fails at roller skating first hand; he had as much balance as Bambi whilst in roller skates, let alone actually on ice, which was surprising considering how graceful he was when fighting. Lloyd near enough snorted.

"He couldn't stand up on the ice, just kept on falling over. Then he got so mad he started to heat up, literally melted the ice around him! But he still couldn't stand up in the skates so was sat down in the puddle he'd created, steam all around him from the melted ice with this look of puzzlement and anger all over his face! I had to call Zane to come and refreeze the rink!" Lloyd was now trying to stop himself from howling, tears forming in his eyes whilst we all joined in, all the tensions felt from the incident with the dummy melting (ha! No pun intended!) away. I could just see Kai's expression now, and I couldn't help from joining in with the laughter. And as entertaining as it could no doubt be for me, maybe ice skating was not such a good idea and was off the list…

So how do you keep a fire ninja who is not allowed any form of exertion entertained? This was going to require some thought. I smiled; he was absolutely worth the challenge.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3. This is quite short but I wanted to get this out as I won't be able to update for a few days. Once again a huge thank you to those of you who have commented and followed my little story. I welcome any feedback and criticism, as I'm very new to this and want to get better! Does the story seem a little slow to you guys? I'm not sure, but I do have a plan for where this is going! Anyways, enjoy!**

The breakfast table was laden with half empty plates and bowls from what looked like a had been feast of eggs, waffles, bacon and toast. Lloyd was absentmindedly stuffing a piece of toast into his mouth, which was laden with so much jam it would make your teeth rot just looking at it, whilst listening to Jay prattling on about the weather to a still waking up and stretching Cole. Zane was animatedly discussing what sounded like some new plans for a mech of some kind with Nya, whilst PIXAL was busying herself with starting to load some of the finished with dishes into the sink. Trying to stifle a yawn and look steadier on his feet than he felt, Kai padded into the room, suddenly conscious of the fact he was still in his pyjamas whilst everyone else was dressed and ready for the day. He slid into his seat and reached for his red coffee mug, wondering what the time was. Shoot, quarter to eight?! Sensai was going to…

"Good morning fella!" Cole finished stretching and gave Kai a warm smile, interrupting Kai's imagination running into overdrive about what Sensai Wu was going to do when he found Kai up so late. "How you feeling?"

"Like I got whacked and run over by an out of control training dummy." Kai groaned and rubbed at his forehead, shooting a look at Jay. "You let me sleep in?"

"Doctor Zane's orders. And don't you even think about trying to get involved with training! I meant what I said yesterday." Lloyd was wagging a jam covered finger at Kai. "You are taking a proper break for the rest of this week."

"With _Skylooor_!" Jay dragged out her name, grinning at the now reddening, pyjama clad fire ninja. "Skylor and Kai, sitting up a tree, K.I.S.S.I…"

"Quit it, Zaptrap." Kai grabbed the nearest implement to hand and deftly flicked it at the blue ninja, which happened to be a scrambled egg laden spoon. He watched with satisfaction as the egg landed neatly on the blue gi, earning a "aww, Kai, that was fresh on!" from his target.

Kai smirked, then turned to Lloyd.

"There's no point me arguing with you?"

"No Kai."

"Not even a tincy bit?"

"No Kai."

Kai harrumphed, leaning back in his chair, ignoring the dull thump in his head that signalled that Lloyd was right, he did need to rest up, but he was never going to let them know that. Spending time with Skylor did sound good. Well better than good. But he really would like to be able to train still as well. Maybe not today, but he was sure his head would be better tomorrow…

"Maybe I could…"

"No Kai."

Nya looked over and grinned at her brother, pushing over the coffee jug so that he could fill up his mug. "She's made loads of plans for you guys over the next few days! You'll have a whale of a time!" Kai raised an eye brow. Interesting…

Zane also looked over now, passing the plate with the remains of the toast on, Lloyd quickly scrambling over to grab another slice before Kai had a chance to take it all.

"I have enabled my sensory monitoring system of your vitals to keep check on you throughout the next four days, so that we can act quickly should your concussion take turn for the worst. Skylor knows not to take you too far from the monastery today, but…"

"Er, Zane, what does that mean?" Kai looked puzzled at Zane. Nya rolled her eyes and the nindroid just smiled.

"It means I am keeping an eye on your heart rate and conscious levels remotely."

"Oh." Kai did not even know how that was possible, but he guessed it was for the best. "Erm, thanks."

A loud gong suddenly echoed through the room, seemingly reverberating through Kai's head, making him wince and gasp out loud, whilst the others groaned. Sensai Wu's voice carried into the kitchen from the doorway.

"Students! Two minutes until training." A brief pause, "But no, not you, Kai." Kai grimaced and took a bite from his now buttered toast.

"Guess I'll see you all later then." He waved at the other ninja and samurai as they filed out of the room. He looked round at the kitchen in its dishevelled state, only partially tidied up before the others had left. I could tidy this up, Kai idly thought. Then he quickly disregarded the idea in favour of a shower first. Kai shoved the rest of the toast into his mouth, wiping crumbs off his pyjamas as he made his way back to his room, wondering what Skylor had planned for him. A smile took hold of him. This could be a very fun filled few days.


	4. Chapter 4

**So I managed to churn this out earlier than I thought I could. Thank you again RandomDragon, your words make me happy to see that someone is enjoying my writing :)**

Chapter 4.

The hot water cascading down Kai's back felt so good. The water running over his hair, making his spikes flop into his eyes in a dripping mess, helped ease the pounding behind his eyes. He had completely lost track of how long he had been stood in the shower, relishing in the novelty of being able to take a such long shower without one of his brothers hammering on the door and hurling abuse. Nya had her own bathroom, up on the second floor by her room. He wasn't sure if PIXAL showered or not (and it was definitely not something he was going to ask!), but he guessed if she did she shared with his little sis. Sighing contentedly, he turned the shower off, stepping out and rubbing the towel through his dripping mop of hair before cocooning himself in it's softness. With a quick reshape of his spikes, he stepped out and padded along to his room. The guys were lucky as the monastery rebuild that Sensai Wu had surprised them with meant that they now each had their own spaces. Not huge spaces (an estate agent would describe them as quaint no doubt) but adequate and most definitely perfect. No more listening to Cole snore or Jay talking to himself in his sleep. He slid the traditional screen door to his room over, and nearly jumped out of his skin at the sight of Skylor laying on his bed (how very _un_ -ninja like, he inwardly scolded himself), red hair cascading on his pillows as she played with her phone.

"Uh, hi!" he managed to stammer out. _Smooth,_ he thought to himself. _So smooth…_ It was all Kai could do to stop himself face palming in front of her. _Come on Kai, get a grip._

Skylor grinned, jumping up off his bed and planting a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Sorry, I did try and shout to you that I was here whilst you were in the shower, but I don't think you could hear over all that, erm, singing! How did it go again…?" Skylor was smirking playfully, whilst Kai did actually face palm this time, then placed his right palm over Skylor's mouth, muffling out her mocking before it got too bad. She snorted, gleeful eyes turning up to him and holding his amused gaze. Oh he was cute, even cuter with his spikes slightly flopping over and his toned torso on display. She could see the pattern of scars across his body, some fresher and rawer than others, and she loved him all the more for them and what they meant. Suddenly, he was drawing her against him, left arm around her waist whilst his hand, which had been playfully against her mouth, was replaced by his kiss. Which was definitely not as playful…

* * *

Zane suddenly paused, straightening up and taking a slightly far away look in his eyes as he accessed his scanners, forgetting his ongoing spar with Jay, who yelped as his spinning hook kick was no longer met by Zane's training pads and he over balanced, saving himself from falling in a slightly ungainly fashion.

"Uh, Zane, what's up?" Jay straightened up, concern etching into his face as he looked at the nindroid.

"Kai, my sensors have picked up something and he's not responding to my calls via his communicator. His heart rate is…" then Zane was off, sprinting back into the monastery with Jay hot on his heels.

* * *

The screen door crashed open, nearly coming clean off its rails, and Zane hurtled in, sending the couple who had been locked in a passionate embrace spinning away from each other in shock.

"What the heck Zane!" Kai's initial shock swiftly being replaced by anger as he span and faced Zane, who had a momentary look of confusion on his face, which was now looking enlightened and then, was that amused?! "What the heck are you doing?"

"Apologies, Kai. Your heart rate suddenly excelled into dangerous levels, you did not pick up your communicator and I thought…"

Jay was now leaning on the doorway, panting, taking in the scene in Kai's bedroom. An angry Kai with only a towel wrapped around his waist (which looked to be in danger of falling, eek), Skylor stood just behind Kai, looking red in the face but also very close to, was that tears?

Skylor put her head in her hands… and then roared with laughter as Zane muttered about Kai's heart rate jumping. Jay put two and two together, then he couldn't help himself, and the angry look on Kai's face was not helping his situation. Jay fell about laughing with Skylor.

"What in my father's name is going on in here?" Wu appeared, looking over Jay's shoulder then squeezing past him into the room. Skylor took a breath, attempting to compose herself in front of what might one day be her Sensai, she still hadn't decided, and tried to stifle her giggles. Jay, however, made no such attempt, much to Kai's dismay, and through gasps of laughter attempted to fill his Sensai in.

"Zane's scanners noticed Kai's heart rate accelerating, way too fast," Jay paused, putting his hands on his knees and with tears in his eyes, "so we ran up to check him but it was just him and Skylor…" Jay couldn't contain himself any longer and he started to howl once again.

"Alright Jay, give it a rest." Kai spat out, becoming conscious of his lack of clothing, pulling his towel closer around himself. His eyes dropping to the floor in front of his Sensai. "Sorry Sensai." FSM, he was so embarrassed and unsure what Wu would do. Damn Zane monitoring his "vitals" and damn this concussion…

Zane also shifted uncomfortably, looking from Kai to Skylor and then to Sensai. This was definitely what Jay would call an oops moment…

Sensai raised himself to his full height, looking all three of his ninjas steadily in the eye. And then Skylor, who he hoped would one day join them. He took in a deep breath and cleared his throat…

"Kai." Kai looked up quickly, worry etched all over his face, the amber glowing around his irises brightly.

"Kai, it is ok. I was also once a young man, you know?" And with that Sensai Wu turned to leave, but not before Jay quipped,

"Well, technically twice you know?!"

Sensai smirked, "Well I guess you are correct, now." And with that he glided back out of Kai's room, back to whatever Sensai task he had been disturbed from.

Kai's shoulders dropped with relief, before sending a friendly punch to the embarrassed nindroid stood in front of him.

"How about a little warning next time eh, Tin Can? Maybe a knock?"

"I am very sorry Kai, and you Skylor. Maybe my sensors need recalibrating."

"No I think your sensors are working fine Zane." Skylor placed a hand on the nindroid's shoulder. "Maybe we need to take more note of our communicators." She smiled, picking up the abandoned and urgently flashing communicator from Kai's bedside table, which he had removed before his shower. "Would it be useful for me to have one of these as well?"

Zane nodded in agreement "Yes, come and pick one up before you go out today." Skylor nodded, then looked over to her still dripping boyfriend.

"Maybe you should get dressed" she smirked, patting Kai's arm as she swept past him and meeting his gaze warmly. "I'll wait for you in the kitchen this time," a pause, "it's probably safer." And with a smile she left, following Jay and Zane back down the corridor towards the stairs. Kai groaned. Today had been more eventful then he had bargained for already. He jumped lightly as his communicator buzzed.

"Er, yeah?"

"Put something cool on, Fireboy. The weather is picking up and we're going out." Skylor's smooth voice purred. He smiled.

"Ok then, Power Raider." He could hear a little snigger as she cut off the comms, and he turned to his wardrobe. Better find something suave to wear then. Maybe this break thing was going to be ok after all.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5. Warning! This is a turning into a bit of a fluffy story! Masters of Fire and Amber, thank you so much! I'm really enjoying writing this, but I know I've loads to learn about writing so your words mean loads to me! And RandomDragon 2.0, I know eh, damn that little nindroid! He he!**

 **Enjoy!**

Hands behind his head and eyes half closed, Kai let out a huge, happy sigh as he laid back. And then sneezed as a stray piece of the long grass swishing around them in the gentle breeze tickled his nose. If you listened carefully, you could just make out the grunts and cries of the still training ninja being carried on that breeze as it wrapped around them, swirling her long hair around her shoulders and ruffling Kai's spikes. Skylor had promised Zane that she would not stray far from the monastery grounds today, and Jay had been right about this little spot, surprisingly just a ten minute walk downhill from the eastern gate, being perfect for a more private (in Jay's words romantic) picnic. Looking out to the rolling hills surrounding Ninjago city, this spot was idyllic. Kai sneezed again, lazily swotting the grass away then wriggling his body further down into the spongy vegetation surrounding him, squishing it down and making himself a soft, green mattress. Skylor struggled to remember a time when she had seen him look this content, although she could tell he was not yet fully relaxed; from those deep brown, amber flecked eyes not being fully closed to the way she could see he was subtly listening to everything around him, she needed to keep working on getting the relaxed part of this break nailed. But the not relaxing part, she guessed, was just part of being a ninja, and one of _the_ ninja at that, who had all been through a lot over the years. Too much.

With a small sigh she went to lay down next to him, and Kai happily put his arm around her as she did so. She cradled her head into his neck.

"That was an amazing lunch." he kissed her hair gently, "Thank you."

"Food is what I do!" she grinned.

"Not only that. You are so much more than that."

"Hmm." Skylor knew what he was getting at and where he was gently trying to nudge the conversation to, but she wasn't sure that she wanted to enter into that right now. Not whilst the weather was so good and they had this time to themselves to think of anything other than…that. Time to steer away from it…

She deftly flipped over and straddled him, arms either side of his lithe body as she looked down on him as he met her gaze with a small, surprised intake of breath and widened his eyes.

"Now you be careful of that heart rate of yours!" she laughed, and his eyes sparkled with mischief in response. "I don't fancy getting iced by Zane." And she leant in, lips meeting his, breathing in that heady, Kai scent which always had a slight hint of ash and cedar wood. Her hands moved up, holding onto his which were behind his head still, and then moving down to ruffle his hair. She could feel him tense slightly at this, and a smile crept over her as she knew he was silently cursing her for messing with his hair but was too lost in the moment to stop her. Eventually she broke away, kissing his nose as she leant back up and met his intense gaze. He looked happy, but she could see a slight wincing in his eyes.

"Head still hurting?"

Kai gave a small nod, sighing. "Positively pounding. But I'll be fine." Sitting up slightly, he reached over and grabbed one of the left over salmon and cucumber futomaki she had made last night, peeling the nori off first and eating it separately before shoving the rest into his mouth in one go, chewing in gratification. He offered her the last one, which she accepted then playfully shoved into her mouth in one go. Kai rolled his eyes in mock disgust.

"You'll choke!"

"You're my hero; you would save me." Bits of rice unceremoniously fell out of her mouth and Kai's eyes rolled again as he tsked her, then smirked, looking her seriously in the eye.

"I don't know the art of mouth to mouth resuscitation."

She laughed now, quickly swallowing the last of the rice and cucumber pieces.

"Oh on that one I would have to beg to differ!" using her hand to push him back down into his grass mattress, with the gentle, warm wind swirling around them.

* * *

Laughing, Skylor pushed open the kitchen door, holding it wide for Kai as he came crashing in with the now virtually empty picnic hamper, bumping into Nya's chair with a swift apology to her before banging it onto the worktop, almost knocking over Cole's mug which he had left there for quite some time judging by the look of its contents. They had spent the afternoon lazily lying in the sun, cocooned within the soft grass, talking about everything and nothing, poking fun at each other, putting the world to rights and a fair amount of, well…other stuff. He ran his hand through his hair, catching Skylor's eye as he noted how dishevelled it was. She shrugged a smirking "what?" over at him as he attempted to discretely put the spikes back in place.

"Looks like someone has had a good afternoon, eh?" Too late. The owner of the now mouldy black cup Kai had nearly knocked flying was looking over from where he was lounging on the sofa. Nya gave a soft snort and looked back down at the blueprint she was working on at the table, whilst a blonde shock of hair and a messy, auburn mop both shot up from the depths of the other sofa where they had also been lounging deep in the cushions, battling it out on the latest game for the console the ninja shared and now meeting Kai's eyes with interest.

No point denying it, Kai shrugged and threw his arms around his girlfriend, planting a kiss on her cheek. "The best." Skylor's face beamed. "In-fact, I'm in such a good mood I'll take Cole's turn to cook tonight. Sky, will you join us?"

Lloyd, Jay and Nya gave sighs of relief and murmured thanks as Cole looked slightly annoyed, muttering "You don't have to do that Kai".

"Shh, don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Let him do it." Lloyd hushed Cole quickly. It was well known that Cole was not the best of cooks; although he always tried, Cole's enthusiasm when cooking unfortunately did not make up for the taste!

"Ok, I'd love to. But don't over stretch yourself, you're still recovering remember? I'll need to get home and change, freshen up a bit first, you know?" Skylor smiled at the fire ninja, pulling a stray grass seed out of his hair and then reaching into the picnic basket for the last of the food. She tossed the tub of left over chocolate mochi over to Cole, who appreciatively caught it, the biggest open-mouthed smile spreading uncontrollably over his face as he prised open the lid and realised what the contents were. Lloyd and Jay soon realised what he had, and Kai laughed as they turned into a mass of tangled legs and arms as they fought over the mochi. He didn't blame them, they did taste good but they all knew that Cole would be victorious in any fight over food. Well actually no, he mentally corrected himself, apart from candy. With candy Lloyd would always win.

"Shall I be back for around six, half six?" Deep green eyes met with warm brown and golden amber flecks, and she leaned forward, giving him the warmest kiss.

"Absolutely." She broke away from him and he watched her as she exited for her little flat back in the city, turning and smiling, blowing him a kiss as she closed the door softly. He could feel himself grinning like an idiot and was happy for the distraction and commotion the chocolate mochi were causing, meaning his brothers were not witnessing this. But as he turned to exit the kitchen for his room he felt the other eyes who were boring into him. Oh this was worse than his brothers; his little sister. Nya was grinning at him, and he couldn't help himself as he let his guard down in front of her, grinning ear to ear back at her. He heard the little soft "aww" from her as he closed the door, leaning on it and taking a breath, attempting to recompose himself. Kai shook his head, and still smiling bounded up the stairs, dishevelled spikes bouncing lightly. Yes, his head still hurt but he could cope with it. Right now he could handle anything.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 Huge thank you's to RandomDragon 2.0, RPM Shadow and Masters of Fire and Amber (p.s. Masters of Amber and Fire I think you mean when I write snigger? Us Brits tend to use that instead of snicker, sorry about the confusion!).**

 **This is a kind of bridging chapter between the fluffiness and some oncoming angst and drama… As always, hope you enjoy!**

A slightly stronger gust of wind blew the light, long voile curtains covering his window over him, floating down over his face. Heavy with sleep he grunted and swotted the fabric away, before turning over onto his side and sleepily looking at the clock on his bed side table. 16.34. Eyes suddenly flinging wide open, he sat up with a start on his bed, announcing a loud "crap!", then immediately covering his mouth and hoping that Wu wasn't close enough to his room to have heard him say that. Kai stretched and attempted to stifle a yawn, thinking to himself that he must have fallen asleep. Was that a sign of old age starting to creep up on him? Taking Grandpa naps in the afternoon? Best not tell the others or he'd never hear the end of it. Flinging the soft feather duvet off him and swinging himself round, placing his feet on the soft rug at the side of his bed, Kai jumped as his mobile phone slid off his lap. It hit the floor with a thud, eliciting another "crap" to escape from his mouth before he could help it. Reaching down and grabbing it, turning it over to check for any new cracks in the screen (his phone was always getting dropped and battered, much to his dismay), he noticed a couple of unread messages, a smile taking hold as he opened them up, remembering they had been chatting as she had made her way home.

 ** _Sky:_** _So what you going to astound me with for my dinner then, Mr Flamey?_

And then the second message, sent a few minutes later:

 ** _Sky:_** _Hey, you ignoring me or have you fallen asleep? Guessing the second. How dare you fall asleep on me! :)_

And then the third: _Sleep tight Fireboy x x_

"Crap!" A third curse flew out. Dinner! He was supposed to be cooking dinner for everyone tonight, and he needed to get a move on! And with that he was up and ready.

* * *

Cole could hear the banging and clattering from his room on the other side of the building, so came trudging into the kitchen to investigate, finding Kai with his head in the fridge apparently searching for ingredients, whilst a pot of something red and pungent smelling was bubbling over on the stove. Cole had to admit, Kai was a good cook. Not as good as Zane, no one was as good as Zane, but definitely better then Jay and Nya. He guessed Kai had had to teach himself when his and Nya's parents had disappeared, being left with no choice but to learn and do so quickly. That must have been tough, Cole mused. But Kai's cooking was still not as good as his own. In Cole's humble opinion, Kai was too traditional whilst Cole considered himself a much more modern, experimental cook, which, he determined, was sorely under appreciated by the other members of the team. Cole reached for the overflowing pan and turned it down, giving it a quick stir then banging the excess sauce off the spoon, causing Kai to start and curse once again from the depths of the fridge as he banged his head.

"Hello there, monsieur chef! Whatcha cooking?" Cole surveying the mess which seemed to cover every surface of the kitchen. Withdrawing his head from the fridge with a triumphant "A ha!" and now wielding a bunch of celery, Kai slammed the fridge door shut again.

"It's Tuesday. So, taco Tuesday!" Kai suddenly looked panicked, "It is Tuesday, right?" Kai scratched his head looking confused, causing Cole to snort out loud.

"Yep, it's Tuesday, don't panic." Cole smiled and then fixed his brother with a serious look, "But I need to ask you two things." Kai nodded at Cole, looking slightly perplexed.

"Is your head ok? You know what day it is and all that?"

Kai looked relieved, "Yes. It still hurts but I'm ok, just lost track of the days that's all. And yes, I can count how many fingers you are holding up and all that business…" Kai sighed. He hated being "ill" and out of action.

"Ok, good. Right. Now this second question is extremely important." Kai leant in, searching Cole's face for a clue as to what was coming.

"How much chilli have you put in that thing?" Cole got his mobile out of his hoodie pocket, gesturing towards the bubbling pot. "Do I need to ring Zane and ask him to pick up more toilet paper on his way back from Ninjago?" He brought Zane's number up on the screen, finger poised over the call button.

Kai snorted whilst Cole grinned at his brother fondly.

"You can't blame me after last time…"

"Hey! It was one time! And I only mixed up tablespoons with teaspoons. I thought it tasted ok, just because you lot can't handle a little bit of heat."

"Kai, my mouth was on fire! I swear I could see some steam coming out of Zane and Lloyd couldn't sit down properly for days! And as for Wu, well…"

They both burst out laughing, Kai wiping at tears in his eyes as he set the celery down on the chopping board and started to hack at it with the largest kitchen knife they owned, as was his way when cooking.

"No, I'll think we'll be fine this time." Kai chuckled, raising an eye brow at Cole. "I've only put two tablespoons of the chilli powder in this time. So far."

Cole groaned as he lifted his phone to his ear, pressing the call button. Better to be safe than sorry he thought to himself, grinning at the fire ninja come chef who was whistling away to himself as he happily cooked. It was good to see him happy, even if they may all regret the food at the end of the day…


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7. Well this is a little less…fluffy!**

 **Masters of Amber and Fire: loving it :)**

 **Enjoy!**

Kai blinked his eyes and wiped the sleep away, slowly taking in the familiar shapes of his room; the twin golden katanas hanging on their wall rack, reflecting the early morning sun around the room, and one of his heavy oak training ones, lazily flung into the corner, casting its long shadow across the wooden flooring. He'd forgotten to close his curtains again, not that it bothered him as he often slept with them open, liking to catch glimpses of the stars, especially if he was having trouble drifting off. Hmm it was early still, he'd easily be able to catch some more z's before he should surface for breakfast. Kai grunted and rolled over onto his side…

"FSM!" he hissed under his breath, jumping out of his skin for what must have been the umpteenth time over the last few days. For lying there, sound asleep, and tucked into his bed and curled on her side, was Skylor.

Crap. Crap, crap, crap. Kai cursed to himself over and over, eyes wide and head starting to take on that now familiar thump behind his eyes.

"Urgh, Kai, what have you done?!" He rolled onto his back gently so as not to disturb her. How had this happened?! He knew their relationship was going well, but was he even ready for this? Was she ready for this? Wait! He didn't even remember "this" happening?! _Oh way to go, Kai_ …groaning he put a hand over his eyes and wiped his brow. Hmm, he felt a bit hot, a little sweaty. Hold up…

Kai gingerly lifted the duvet up from himself, just enough to check…he peered down and sighed with relief. Yep, he still had his pants on, explaining why he was hot. And yep, the twang of the waistband confirmed that yes, his boxers were still intact as well. A small sigh of relief escaped him, but just to be sure he needed to check Sky…

He gently rolled back over to face her and was immediately mesmerized by her sleeping form. Watching and listening to her rhythmic, peaceful breathing was calming, the gentle movement of a stray strand of her shining red hair with her breath, and the occasional flutter of those long lashes. Sighing, he thankfully noted that she was indeed still wearing the deep maroon tank top that she'd had on the night before at dinner. He decided there was no need to try and lift up the duvet to check if she was wearing her slacks, especially when he thought of the consequences of being caught by her doing so. Skylor was strong, fierce and a force to be reckoned with when riled, and he did not intend to be on the receiving end of that this early in the morning if he could help it.

Kai rolled onto his back again, closing his eyes and trying to remember the events which had occurred last night, leading to him waking up with his girlfriend in his bed like this. Rubbing his head, he started thinking. He'd cooked dinner and Cole had helped him to lay the table. Zane and PIXAL had arrived from Ninjago City with toilet rolls, milk ("it helps to cool down one's mouth after eating spice" Zane had reassured the others, the cheek) and, much to Cole and Lloyd's delight, a giant vanilla cheesecake for dessert. Skylor had arrived, looking stunning with her hair pulled back into her signature, simple ponytail, that maroon tank top, simple light brown slacks and a fitted blazer thrown over the top. He remembered her kiss, and they had all sat down to eat in their usual fashion of firing insults at each other and eating ravenously (it took a lot of calories for the amount of strenuous training they did, don't judge!). Apparently, the chilli Kai had cooked for the tacos was a little spicy for their tastes again, although Kai failed to see what the problem was. If you asked him, Lloyd was being a little mellow dramatic, downing his pint of milk in one go and then begging for more. Tsk, it was only a little heat! After what he'd been through and fought through, he should be able to handle a little spice. They had all enjoyed the dessert, Cole and himself having seconds. Wu and Misako had made tea before they both retired to their rooms, saying they needed to research or study some scrolls, something like that. They had bickered over a film to watch, eventually Zane stepping in and saying they should let their guest, Skylor, decide. And she had picked a classic, Run Lola Run. Kai wondered if that was where the inspiration for her hair came from, glancing over at the cascading ponytail on his pillow and smiling. Looking back up at the ceiling, he started racking his poor, hurting brain again and realised he couldn't remember any more than the first ten minutes or so of the film… had he fallen asleep?! Aww man! What was up with him lately? He'd had a long nap that afternoon as well! If he'd fallen asleep on the sofa with the others around, he was very lucky to still have his eyebrows intact… A hand quickly reached up to check. Yep, still all there apart from the usual notch missing from his scar. He sighed, guessing that Cole had probably helped him, hopefully not carried him, up to his bed and then, too tired to make the journey back to her flat, Skylor had elected to crash with him. He turned on his side again to face her and watch her sleep. This concussion must be taking it out of him for him to keep on falling asleep like this. Mesmerized once again by Skylor's peaceful breathing, he fell asleep once more.

* * *

A small, soft kiss on her cheek brought an immediate smile to her face, and she opened her eyes to the sight of warm, brown eyes twinkling under ruffled and tangled spikes.

"Good morning, Mr Sleepy!" she grinned up at him. "If I had known that my company was that boring…"

Kai harrumphed, and looked at her squarely, propping himself up on his side.

"Tell me Cole did not carry me up to bed."

Giggling "Cole did not carry you up to bed."

He could tell straight away she was lying, and he groaned with exasperation, rolling onto his back. Skylor pulled herself more upright, untangling herself from the sheets and leaning on his chest.

"Ah it's ok. It's probably your body telling you to slow down and allow itself to heal." She absentmindedly stroked his hand and looked up. Kai lent down and kissed her, deeply and sweetly.

"Well at least I got to wake up with you." He breathed, and she smiled in return. She looked so beautiful, the sun reflecting off her hair and making her eyes sparkle, and he had felt it for a long, long while, that he just couldn't help himself, and the words just naturally tumbled out.

"I love you."

She sat up and let out a sharp exhale. Ok, this was not what he had expected…but…

She looked at him, eyes bewildered. Definitely not what he was expecting.

"Don't say that. Don't ever say that."

She virtually jumped out of the bed, straightening her slacks and tugging her top down as it rode up over her hips. Kai, for once, was at a loss what to say, and could only stare at her as she turned to him, eyes glinting and arms folded.

"I, I'm sorry…" he stammered, "but it's how I feel. You mean so much to me, and I've been thinking about how much I need you in my life…"

That, apparently, was a huge mistake. Her eyes narrowed, and lips pursed together as she hissed at him.

"Well I do not need you. I don't need anyone."

And with that Kai was up out of his bed. His head pounded as the words resonated and bounced around, becoming confused and jumbled. He couldn't take this, so did what he knew he had to do in order to avoid making this into an even bigger disaster. Grabbing his gi as he passed his chair where he had carelessly discarded it last, he turned and walked away. Quickly. Fists curled up and heating. He kept on walking not daring to look back, until he found himself at the top of the stairs which led into the basement where the gym now was. Ignoring the building pressure in his head and the relentless pounding, along with Zane's voice of reason telling his conscious that he should not be partaking in anything strenuous, he skulked down the stairs, bounding down two at a time. Flicking on the lights and grabbing his gloves off the rack with his small Borgpod, he pulled on the gloves and shoved the earbuds into his ears, quickly turning on the player and selecting his gym workout playlist. He squared up to the punchbag hanging in the corner, waiting for the heavy trapanese beats he liked to work out to to kick in. Then his hands fell to his sides and his heart felt like it was going to break into tiny, shattered pieces. Jay. It must have been Jay. Or maybe Lloyd. Whatever, whoever. His fists curled up with a renewed indignation. His playlist had been tampered with and instead of his usual tracks he was being bombarded with the love sick lyrics of _Born To Be Yours_ by Imagine Dragons. Desperately he fumbled for the skip button, howling in frustration as love song after love song kicked in. Ripping the ear buds out he roared and turned, twisting his body up into a fierce series of jump kick upon jump kick upon the poor, defenceless punch bag.

"Kai?" Cole was peering into the gym, eyes widening as he watched the dangerously swinging punchbag which was straining on its chains. Kai dropped, panting, neatly landing on the floor and suddenly aware of the pounding of his head. He raised a gloved hand to his head and groaned.

"What has happened?"

"Not now Cole." Kai threw the gloves to the ground alongside the treacherous Borgpod, and pushed himself past the earth ninja abruptly. Cole could easily have stopped Kai in his tracks, but he knew better than to try that, so stood to one side and followed the master of fire as he made his way to the main door of the monastery.

Pushing the door open, Kai groaned again but this time in frustration as the other ninjas, who were mid training on the combat course, turned with surprise as the door flew open. Everyone was there, except her of course. Urgh. How was he letting her affect him like this? He felt the fire within smoulder and flicker, beginning to rise dangerously.

"Kai. You need to calm yourself immediately. I have been trying to reach you." Zane broke away from the training dummy he was stood beside, and started to make his way over. But Kai was not ready for that. He looked down at his comms bracelet and noted that it was indeed flashing at him urgently. He ripped it off, tossing it at the ice ninja, whose reflexes enabled him to catch it quickly before it smashed into the hard ground.

Taking a deep breath, Kai blocked out their faces, summoning all of his strength and ignoring the haziness now starting to cloud the edges of his vision. He began the focused and deliberate hand and arm movements which they all knew but had not used for a long while for various reasons. The ninja stepped back as Kai threw his arms out and his elemental energy dragon roared into life. Without looking back at them, Kai leapt onto Flame's back, beginning to coax him into flight. He knew this was not really Flame, as Flame was long gone, a part of the ultra dragon's skeleton which had made up part of the Iron Baron's throne. This memory did nothing to help Kai's mood, feeling the anger simmering and starting to boil over…

"Kai! Stop!" He heard Nya's voice crack with worry and couldn't help himself as he looked down to her. She gasped as her eyes met his, seeing and taking in all of the pain and hurt now cast across them, the normally small amber flecks now swirling and flickering dangerously over the brown. She had only seen him this broken once before, and she did not want to think about that time as it had nearly broken her as well. Kai looked away, blinking away the hot tears now forming.

"Kai." Softer this time, his little sister was reaching up to him, but that just made him screw up his eyes tightly and hold his head in his hands, silently screaming and then burrowing his head into the thick, scaly skin of his dragon's neck. He did not want to look at them or be seen by them, so he looked up and sharply pointed Flame to the clouds gathering above them. Driving Flame harder, faster as the tears started to stream down his face, steaming as they dripped onto his heated body, his head throbbing dangerously as he ferociously drove Flame near enough vertically into the sky. As he levelled out he faltered, gasping as his vision swirled and a sharp pain stung across his eyes, transferring that pain to Flame who also faltered, flickering dangerously. He could see his team below, small cries of worry carrying up to him. And then he was gone, wind whipping through his hair as he sped away before they could summon their own elemental dragons to follow and catch him. Speeding away from them. From her. From everything.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 **He he, sorry for the shocks guys! Once again thank you for the reviews :)**

What had she done? The initial panic was replaced by mortification, sweeping over her and enveloping her in a claustrophobic fog.

She sank to her knees, resting her head on his bed that carried that subtle, charred cedar scent that she had grown to love so dearly.

Stupid. Stupid. **Stupid!**

What had she done!

* * *

Barely clinging to consciousness, Flame and Kai dropped lower to the ground. He did not know how long he had been flying for. Not too long he suspected, as the sun was still not quite at its height, but long enough to be away from the more familiar grounds surrounding Ninjago City and the monastery situated at its outer edge. Flame skirted over the tops of the trees, but his wings felt laboured, the flight awkward and not as steady as it should be.

 _"_ _I do not need you. I don't need anyone."_

The words stung him, but the tears no longer came. Only burning pain. He pushed Flame on, now seeing where his inner autopilot had taken him. It was still as majestic a sight as the first time he had set eyes on it, and he could feel the scorching heat from here, enveloping him and cocooning him, whispering to his soul. Another stab of pain in his head caused Kai to wheeze this time, Flame flickering, threatening to disappear beneath him. But Kai pushed on; he could do this. He needed to do this.

Blinking hard to keep the hazy spots from blurring his vision completely, they landed in a messy bundle of fire, smoke and disturbed dirt in a clearing amongst the thick trees. Flame disappeared almost instantaneously whilst the momentum of the abruptly ended flight sent Kai into a tumbling somersault until he smacked into a tall pine tree and came to a stop, smouldering and blinking heavily, lying on his back. He looked up at the towering, beautiful and alive mountain, basking in its heat. He had only ever been to one place which was hotter, Torchfire Mountain, but this place was worth so much more. This was where it had all truly began for him; where he had found and rescued Nya, fought Garmadon and countless other enemies over time, gained his beloved Sword of Fire and found Flame.

Where he had reached his true potential.

A small smile graced his lips as he remembered the bright blonde, scruffy haired and highly annoying little pipsqueak Lloyd had been then, and how scared and vulnerable he had looked whilst clinging to that crumbled ledge, watching Kai and pleading for his help. With a sigh, Kai pulled himself up, using the tree trunk he had crashed into for support, and then slowly began dragging himself over towards the gate to the Temple of Fire, staggering with the incessant throbbing in his head and rubbing at his eyes, willing his vision to clear. A sudden wave of nausea over took him, and he leant over, allowing his stomach to empty itself of its contents. Zane sprung up in his conscious again, warning him that he needed to sit down and summon help, but Kai was too stubborn and absorbed to do such a thing. Wiping his mouth on his gi's sleeve, he continued his arduous journey into the temple, swaying and staggering but needing to get inside. Finally making it, he allowed his weakened body to collapse to the dusty floor of the volcano, submitting himself to that scorching and unrelenting heat, allowing it to envelope him willingly. It was invigorating, some might say spiritual. Blinking, he turned to gaze at the molten lava pool in the middle of the vast cavern, watching as the fluid pool spat out long, dancing strands of the red, blistering liquid. They were mesmerizing. Much as he had been mesmerized by her hair earlier. His eyes dulled at the fresh pain brought with that thought, and he closed them, giving in and allowing himself to loosen his grip on his consciousness in the hot, acrid and perilous environment which he loved.

* * *

Twisting.

Turning.

Contorting, throbbing and stinging.

Sweat beading over his skin but watching through narrowed, pain filled eyes.

Flashes of colour and blistering heat ribboning around him.

Fever gripped in a vice like hold.

Darkness once again.

* * *

The light outside was now considerably dimmer, although it still burned bright inside the volcanic cavern. Kai felt his body involuntarily shiver despite the red hot heat surrounding him.

Twisting and twirling, looping above him.

His eyes blinked as he clocked a dragon above him, smaller than Flame in stature but filled with charisma, coloured scales shimmering, reflecting the vibrant oranges and reds surrounding them, but also seeming to shine blue and green hues. The dragon twisted and coiled, gracefully swooping and playing amongst the lava spits. He reached up a shaky hand to wipe a bead of sweat away from his eyes, the movement catching the eye of the dragon who darted upwards towards the top of the cavern, wings beating rhythmically as she watched him intently. He did not know how, and he had no knowledge of how to sex a dragon, but this powerful beast was definitely a female, he just knew. She must have decided Kai wasn't a threat, as she glided back down to investigate, flying over his weak body laying on the ground so closely that he could feel her hot breath and body heat, sending his skin prickling into goosebumps and causing his severely dishevelled spikes to tousle in her slipstream. He gazed back up at this beautiful, independent creature as she decided to allow him to be in her presence, returning to her play amongst the fire and lava of the Fire Temple. Spots took over his obscured vision once again as he slumped back into his fever driven and restless sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Zane wearily looked over at his brothers and Nya, the worry and concern etched over all of the ninjas' faces. Cole held a frown over his face, thick eyebrows knitted together in concentration whilst he poured over the map which Lloyd had spread onto the kitchen table. Together the two were placing crosses over the areas they had checked, Lloyd tucking his hair behind his ears and biting his lip as they crossed off yet another area. Jay was nervously drumming his fingers against the chair top which he was leaning against, causing Nya to turn from where she stood, looking over Lloyd's shoulder and glare at him.

"Quit it, would you!" Nya had the same temper as her brother, it just bubbled below the surface a little deeper, taking longer for it to rise. But when it surfaced it was just as quick and scolding. But she also mellowed just as quickly, and she sighed, trying to meet Jay's now downturned electric blue eyes.

"Hey, I'm sorry." She reached over to him, seeking to pat Jay's arm. "I just wish I knew where my hot headed, pain in the butt, ass of a brother has got himself to!" She turned to Jay fully now, seeking solace from the blue clad ninja, who obliged, taking her into his arms and smoothing her hair.

"He's strong Nya, you know he'll be fine."

"But he looked so broken, Jay." Almost whispered, Lloyd and Cole looked over to her, the latter reaching out to her.

"We will find him Nya."

"That's it!" They all started, even PIXAL who was sitting next to him patiently, as Zane jumped up from his seat. Their faces watched him eagerly, waiting for the revelation to come.

"I have been monitoring his body temperature, which, as you know, has been a little warm."

"Er, Zane, Kai's body temperature is always warm, being the master of fire an' all." Cole huffed, turning away back to the map, but Lloyd stared at the nindroid intently with his bright green eyes.

"Zane, go on."

"Well it has become obvious that Kai has a fever running at 2.3 degrees above his normal body temperature. But when I look back and plot his temperature fluctuations, I can see a direct point at which his temperature suddenly spiked to 1.4 degrees above his normal range, and then gradually ascended to its current peak…"

PIXAL stood up excitedly. "Yes Zane! His body acclimatised to a new, extreme temperature in his environment and then his fever started." She was nodding whilst Zane looked downfallen.

"I have to apologise that I did not notice this earlier."

"Apologise for what? I'm still confused over what exactly you're saying here." Cole shrugged his shoulders, looking perplexed.

"He's saying that Kai is somewhere hot, Dirtclod!" Nya shrugged herself from Jay's grip, stepping over to the map. "Which means he is most likely in one of two places that he could have realistically reached in this time frame. Torchfire Mountain, or…"

"…the Fire Temple. That's where he is." Lloyd breathed, finishing Nya's sentence and meeting her gaze. They smiled with relief at each other as Lloyd exhaled a soft "gotcha" under his breathe.

"My calculations concur that this is the most likely location of our brother, based on his average velocity when airborne." Zane reached behind him, grabbing his shurikens.

Jay straightened up, "Well what are we waiting for!"

* * *

The journey did not take long on their elemental dragons, and they all agreed it felt good to back on them after such a long period of time without them. They were jovial at first, swirling in and out of each other with the occasional dive bomb from Jay nearly knocking his target off their steed a few times. But as they drew closer, spotting the dense Forest of Tranquilly followed by the foreboding volcano in its clearing just after, the mood grew sombre.

It was quickly very obvious that they were in the right place as they all landed, eyeing the recent scorch marks and disturbed dirt made by what appeared to be a bit of a crash landing. Looking to each other worriedly, Zane quickly spoke into his communicator, letting PIXAL know that they were on the right track. She had offered to stay back at the monastery in case Kai miraculously appeared there, but more so because Sensai Wu and Misako had left early that morning and did not know of the day's happenings.

Jay stepped over the drying up puddle of Kai's vomit, with only a slight grimace and "eww" escaping him. Even Jay was too apprehensive to make light of what they were finding.

Lloyd and Nya stepped up to the bridge which connected the forest to the temple's gate.

"Maybe it would be best if just Nya and I go on first," Lloyd turned to the others. "We don't want to crowd him." Lloyd was fully aware of what state Kai could be in, knowing that if he was or became as distressed as he had been earlier, it could become quite explosive. He eyed the volcano. Literally.

Agreeing to send for them as soon as needed, Lloyd and Nya broke away from the group, pushing open the slightly ajar temple door. Both let out involuntary gasps as the rush of hot air hit them both. It was suffocating, burning hot.

"Trust my brother to pick such a place." Nya sighed.

"It makes perfect sense, when you think about it." She nodded her agreement to Lloyd, and they both pushed on, into the volcanic cavern. Lloyd had to narrow his eyes against the stinging heat as they entered. He knew he was the master of fire, but FSM, how could Kai stand being in this much heat? He searched and gasped as he made out the listless form of his teammate lying on the floor, facing towards the molten lava pool. If Zane had not reassured him it was not the case he would have assumed the worst, that Kai was dead, as he lay so still. Rushing over, Nya cradled her brother's head in her arms.

"Kai. It's all ok Kai, wake up." She stroked his matted hair, looking at Lloyd in alarm as she got no response from her brother.

Lloyd placed his hand on Kai's arm gently.

"Hey bud. Come on, wake up." Kai's eyes fluttered briefly and then he weakly attempted to cover his eyes with his hands, groaning. Nya smiled. He was going to be ok, she knew it.

Gripping Kai's arm more tightly, Lloyd gave his friend a small smile.

"Come on Fireboy, let's get you sat up." They both gripped onto the debilitated ninja and helped him get more upright against the volcano's wall, ignoring Kai's incoherent mumbling and grumbling. Lloyd could have sworn he made out something about a dragon, but there wasn't anything or anyone in there with them. Probably fever riddled gibberish, Lloyd thought to himself. Kai took that moment to retch, and they both leapt to one side as the obviously now very poorly ninja heaved and coughed, spitting out anything left inside of him. When Kai had finished Nya crouched down and gave Kai a bottle of water, with the strict instructions to "sip! Do not gulp." Kai looked up at her, now recognising his sister and smiling weakly.

"Has she gone?" Nya looked gently at her brother, searching him to work out who he meant. But Kai refused to meet her gaze directly.

"Skylor?" she asked softly. The pained breath he took confirmed that was who he meant, also confirming to Nya her suspicions that something had happened between the two this morning. Causing all of this. They had not seen any sign of her, although Nya knew she had stayed overnight. A protective surge built up in her, but her inner voice of reason swallowed it back down. Nya did not know what had happened, and she would try not to judge until she did know.

"I've not seen her Kai. So I guess so."

His shoulders dropped, but he said no more. Nya guessed that was as much as he was capable of right now.

"Lloyd, we need to get him home and get this fever down." Nodding in agreement, he spoke quickly into his communicator, calling upon the strength of the earth ninja to help carry their team mate for the second time over the last 24 hours. He looked down at Kai, who was quietly watching something up towards the ceiling of the volcano, brown eyes following the path of something intently. But when the green ninja followed his gaze he saw nothing but wisps of smoke and spits of the lava, curling up towards the ragged rock outcrops of the cavern above them. This place gave him the creeps, and he was thankful when he saw Cole entering the cavern, swooping down and lifting Kai as gently as a mother would her new-born child. Kai had no energy to fight, just closing his eyes and surrendering to the care of his brothers and sister as they remounted their energy dragons and flew home.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

 **A huge hello and thank you to RandomDragon 2.0 for your review, I love seeing how you are thinking through what is happening. Maybe we'll see that mysterious dragon again, eh?**

 **:)**

The next couple of days passed by in an uncomfortable blur of sleep, medication, a pinch of grumbling, more medication and a lot more sleep, whether that had been induced by some of Wu's strongest teas or sheer exhaustion. But on the Friday evening Kai awoke, and for the first time since they had got him home (an adventure in itself, but a tale for another day) he appeared alert and more importantly, lucid. Or as lucid as Kai got…

Nya had been by his side tirelessly, comforting him, wiping down his brow whilst the fever rampaged through him, coaxing him to _just swallow the medicine Kai!_ And listening to him, although most of what he had been muttering was unintelligible and jumbled. They had not heard from Skylor, and the general consensus over the breakfast table on the Thursday was to leave well alone for the moment. None of them knew what had gone so drastically wrong, especially considering how deliriously happy they had both seemed. The team agreed to wait until they could get a more coherent explanation from Kai, and then only become involved if it was deemed necessary.

But once he was fully awake it was sorely obvious that discussing the events of Wednesday morning were definitely still off limits for the red ninja; he was obviously still licking his wounds.

* * *

"But I'm fed up of lying in bed now, Nya! All I want to do is go downstairs and stretch my legs!" He had his arms folded, stubborn attitude written across his forehead. She sighed, looking at her brother and noted that she probably would not win this one. And besides, he had been cooped up in his room for a while now. Kai could see his sister's gaze softening, and knew he was persuading her. It would just require a little more charm.

" _Purlease?"_ He batted his eyelashes at her, lop sided smile reaching full beam. Sighing, she lightly punched him on the arm.

"I know full well what you are doing, Mr Charmer, and you know it won't work on me."

 _Really? You sure about that?_

"Oh but Nya, I'm feeling so much better! My head doesn't hurt or anything!" His eyes were widening now for full affect, and she felt her resolve give.

"Ok, ok. But the minute you get tired you are back up here. Promise?"

"I promise."

"Good. Come on then." She held out her hand and the stripy pyjama clad ninja eagerly started to swing his legs round off his bed, putting his weight tentatively onto his feet and slowly straightening up.

"Feel ok?" She asked, and Kai nodded.

"Yep. All is good." He felt a little weak, yes, but he was ok. He could almost punch the air with elation. His head felt more or less clear, and yes he guessed training would still be off for a couple of days at least, but he was up and feeling better.

Nya insisted on helping him down the stairs, although he definitely did not need it. Something, however, made him pause before he pushed that heavy oak door to the open plan kitchen and lounge. He could hear the others; Jay's loud excited voice telling some lame joke, Cole and Lloyd groaning whilst Zane asked for clarification on said joke. Kai could feel the trepidation building.

"It'll be ok, come on." Nya smiled and took him by the elbow, and they pushed the door open together.

As soon as the door was open they fell upon him, crying his name and covering him in hugs and fist bumps. Eventually Nya shooed them away, clearing a path for her sibling to flop onto the sofa. Jay was energetic and loud as usual, trying to fill him in on what he had apparently missed over the couple of days he had been in bed, out of it. Seemingly this was not a lot, but Jay was going to make sure he was filled in on every detail of how they had been working together on some new combat moves. Cole had made cake (the only thing Cole could make which was edible, Kai smirked), and the earth ninja proudly brought a huge slab of it over which Kai happily indulged on, not realising how hungry he was until he started to pick at the thick, chocolate icing. Zane sat quietly, chipping in to Jay's story to elaborate on or correct details, whilst Lloyd just sat back quietly, watching his brother with concern behind his eyes. Kai tried to avoid those bright, unnaturally green eyes. He did not want to even try to explain any of his actions yet. It stung too much, and if he pretended it hadn't happened, maybe…

"So are we going to talk about it?" Green eyes were now piercing into him. Oh.

"Erm, I don't know what you mean." Kai tried to skirt around the subject, quickly.

"Come off it Kai. We all saw how upset you were. We know it had something to do with Skylor…"

Kai stood up, a little too quickly, knocking the last of his cake onto the floor. The room hushed as Kai held the green ninja's, his leader's, gaze. Not defiantly or indignantly, which if Lloyd's words had not hurt so much he would most likely have done. But with pain. And sadness. This was not what Lloyd had been expecting, and his gaze softened. Kai turned and walked out, muttering about needing air. As he walked out he could hear Nya reprimanding Lloyd, but he did not care. He felt stifled, and he needed to get out and breath in the fresh, cool air outside.

Lloyd found him sat on the outer wall of the monastery, balanced with ease on the tall, rickety bricks. Kai did not acknowledge him as Lloyd effortlessly flipped up next to him, sitting down and following the red ninja's gaze. He was looking out towards the city's lights in the distance, twinkling in the night. It was breath-taking. They sat like this, silently, for a while; Kai watching the lights whilst Lloyd looked on, hugging his knees. Eventually, Kai turned to him.

"What do you want to know?" His voice was soft, almost a whisper, holding not a glimpse of the bravado and confidence mostly associated with the brash master of fire. By those that did not truly know him, that is.

Lloyd continued to look out to the skyline. "Just how to help you."

Kai snorted, causing Lloyd to raise an eyebrow at his brother.

"Well this is a turn of events! It's normally me advising you!"

"I know you see me as your little brother. And I see you as my big, annoying brother. But that means I am here for you too. I love you, man."

Kai's eyes flickered as the words stung him again, just as sharp and painful as the first time.

 _"_ _I love you"_

 _"_ _Don't say that. Don't ever say that."_

Lloyd exhaled, taking the now crying ninja into his arms, realisation gripping him.

"You told her you loved her."

Kai sobbed in response, unable to elaborate or explain. Lloyd just held on as his brother's tears racked his body, knowing Kai would explain in time.

Kai sat back up, sniffing and visibly trying to pull himself together. Lloyd stayed quiet, waiting.

"She flipped. It had all been so perfect, then she just flipped. She told me not to say that, and that she didn't need me. She doesn't need anyone." Kai sighed, looking back out to the city lights, a perplexed look covering his face.

"I've messed it all up Lloyd, as usual. Not thinking, just going straight in there like I always do. And now…" he faltered, tears threatening to well up once more. Lloyd felt like his heart was breaking seeing his brother like this.

He sighed, and turned Kai to look at him.

"Kai, she loves you."

Kai just looked confused, then resolute.

"Did you not just hear anything I just told you? She's done with me, I've scared her off or something." He bit his lip, struggling with what to say next. But Lloyd knew.

"Right, listen to me." Lloyd took Kai by the shoulders. "When you and Cole, Wu and Jay disappeared we thought you were dead at first. I had given up." Lloyd swallowed, hard. "But then Skylor and the others found us. Right when we needed them." Kai looked at him, he knew all this.

"Where is this going, Lloyd?", shrugging Lloyds hands off of him.

"When I had to tell her that you were gone and we didn't know if we would ever see you again, she was crushed. Devastated. I could see it in her eyes. But she is strong, possibly the fiercest woman I know after Nya." Kai smiled, that was true.

"She chose to carry on, she did not give up on you. Not like I nearly did. She's incredible, and I have no doubt that she loves you; I saw it in her eyes when I told her we thought you were gone. I saw it again when she looked at you after your accident with Jay's wild training dummy. And then you have to remember her past. She had no one growing up, she's always had to be independent. She couldn't even rely on her father, for FSM's sake! Of course she doesn't think she needs anyone. And maybe she doesn't." Lloyd paused, looking over to Kai.

"But love is not about needing someone. It's about appreciating someone, accepting them for all that they are. Growing and muddling through life and all it choses to throw at you together. She loves you, and I think that probably scares her a little. Probably more than a little! But you'll need to talk to her about that. Remember though that she chooses to be with you, and allowed herself to love you." He finally paused and took a breath. "Think about all she has been through. She is strong, she's fierce. At times she's terrifying! But she lets you love her. And I would bet my candy stash that she loves you too. Can't you see what that means to someone like Skylor?"

Kai was speechless, gazing at his younger brother and wondering when did he become so wise? He looked back over at the city, letting Lloyd's words sink in. He turned to his younger brother, his team mate, his leader, and right now apparently his mentor.

"You have a candy stash?!"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11. Thanking you so much for the reviews.**

 **Masters of Fire and Amber: Ha! Sorry about that, I'm feeling a bit, ahem, on fire (!) with the writing at the moment, so the chapters are kind of mounting up! Although the story is coming towards its natural conclusion now :( But I have loads of ideas whirling around for some more little stories :)**

 **RPM Shadow: hoping you continue to enjoy!**

The next day passed in a boring fashion. Lloyd and Zane had refused to allow Kai to start training again yet, so he had tried to occupy his time by spectating as his team whipped and jumped around the equipment, honing their skills. But that didn't go too well. Apparently, they did not want his advice all the time, and after the sixth occasion of rudely being told to be quiet after offering his advice, he found himself being shoved into the lounge by Jay, who pushed a book into his hand with a sharp "here, read this". Well reading isn't really Kai's thing, it can take it bit too long, you know? But he had a quick flick through it. What was it again, he turned the book over to look at the dog eared front cover. Something to do with sparkly vampires, moonlight was it called? He vaguely remembered it being one of Nya's favourites, although she couldn't stand the film that came after the book. With a sigh he dropped it onto the seat beside him and leant back. He was trying desperately to avoid getting his phone out to check it again, hope building up each time he did so that maybe, just maybe, she had finally answered his messages and he had missed the little vibration it made to alert him to it. Trembling, he reached into his hoodie and pulled his Borgphone out, unlocking it and gazing at the picture of him and her pulling faces at the camera, tongues out and laughing. But no messages. Nothing, as it had been when he last checked it. Slumping back into the cushions, he put his feet up onto the coffee table and hummed to himself. Maybe he didn't have any signal? Yes, that could be it! He bolted back upright, knocking the black mug and its contents from the coffee table onto the floor (urgh, Cole's mug again! Why could that dude not just wash his mug up? Filthy earth demon!), and held his phone up, searching for the little bars of signal. He slouched again. No, that wasn't it. Full signal and full 4g. Or was it? He held the little button on the side down and slid the bit on the screen to power the phone off. Maybe his phone was lying to him, and it indeed did not have signal. Maybe it needed a little reshoe? No, that's not right. Reboot? Resandal? Whatever, he would start it up again. He placed the phone on the little coffee table, leaning forward over it intently, watching and waiting for the little wheel to stop spinning so he knew it was back on. It flashed and that goofy picture came on again. And…

"Urgh!" He threw himself back into the cushions again, hands covering his face in exasperation. Full signal. He knew she was getting the messages, he could see she had read them. But she was…ignoring him?

"Still no message, huh?" Nya was in the doorway, wiping her face with a towel. He rolled his eyes and grunted at her. He'd had girls do this before, well a couple, not many. But this was different, so different. Maybe Lloyd was wrong…

Before he could react Nya had stood behind him, leaning down and wrapping her arms around his neck, nuzzling into his hair.

"It'll work out bro."

He heaved a sigh, reaching up to her hands and holding onto them, tapping the phone away from him with his foot.

"I guess so." Although at this point, he didn't really believe it.

* * *

The next day was Sunday, their day off training. Nya and Jay had been out the night before to some late night showing at the Ninjago City cinema, so were sleeping in. Zane and PIXAL were up and about early, occupied by something which sounded complicated in the workroom. Lloyd had left about an hour ago with his uncle and mum, going to visit some temple or other to look at the scrolls on display inside it. He was not in the mood for that, so had politely declined the invite. Cole suddenly appeared at the bottom of the stairs, humming to himself and throwing on his dark hoodie, raven hair springing out wildly as popped his head through the neck hole. Cole pushed the hair back out of his eyes, and immediately stopped humming as he peered through the propped open door and spotted the fire ninja trying to sink into the sofa cushions and make himself less conspicuous. Cole took in the slumped posture, the vacant, dull expression, the lazy sweat pants which he seemed to have lived in over the last few days. And now the worst thing, which made Cole gasp, throw the hoodie back off and launch himself over the back of the sofa to sit next to his wallowing friend. Kai was by himself. And watching _romantic movies_?

Kai groaned as Cole landed next to him, flicking the tv off quickly.

"Too late, caught ya!"

Kai just eyed him, not moving from his pit except to shove some more popcorn into his mouth.

"I thought you were going to see your dad today."

"I was. But then I saw you, and you obviously need me more."

Kai just glanced at the ninja who was trying to catch his eye whilst deftly stealing some of his popcorn.

"I'm fine."

"Dude! You are not! You were watching, what even was it…" Cole leant over and grabbed the DVD case, turning it over in his hands and gasping "… _Bridget Jones!_ You were watching this?! Seriously?! How did this even get into our collection?"

Kai shrugged, picking the remote back up and switching the tv on again, absentmindedly shoving more popcorn into his mouth.

Cole grabbed the remote, ignoring the "hey!" eliciting from Kai and mentally scolding himself as he managed to upset the bowl of popcorn on Kai's lap, spilling the precious food. He switched the tv off and resolutely turned to look at Kai.

"You've not heard from her then."

A soft "No."

"Have you been to see her?"

A sharp, shocked "No!"

"Why not?"

Cole waited, arms folded and eyeing the now squirming and not so fiery master of fire.

And he waited.

And waited some more.

Eventually: "She obviously does not want to see me, Cole."

He sounded so defeated, but Cole was not having it.

"The problem with you two is you're both stubborn. FSM help us if she decides to join the team officially, with two stubborn little hot heads running around. Come on, get up. We're going out."

"No, Cole."

"Up! Get yourself dressed."

"What? No!"

Cole narrowed his eyes, pursing his lips.

"Do not make me carry you up to your room for the third time this week…"

The threat worked and Kai grumpily backed down, much easier than he would do normally Cole thought. One way or another, this needed to get sorted out. Today.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12. This is the last chapter! Huge, huge thanks to RandomDragon 2.0, RPM Shadow and Masters of Fire and Amber for your lovely reviews, you've really helped spur me on and filled me with confidence with this. Mwah x**

She spotted them both stood over on the other side of the road straight away, the tall and muscular stature of Cole obvious next to the lithe, slightly shorter but more athletic build of Kai. Although not wearing his signature red Kai was unmistakable, even when simply dressed in a fitted grey shirt which had untucked itself from his dark slacks. But there was something very different in the way he was holding himself, posture not as upright, not as poised… she flinched as she saw Cole pick his friend up and then unceremoniously carried the struggling ninja across the road over his shoulder.

Oh.

They were coming here.

She turned and went to push through the swinging doors into the kitchen, and then stopped, hand on the door. This was stupid, and they needed to sort it out. Skylor forced herself to calm, taking in a deep, slightly shaky breath. And turned around.

* * *

"What the heck Cole? I cannot believe you just did that to me!" Kai hissed at his brother as Cole dropped him back on his feet.

"Well it was kinda obvious that you were not going to walk yourself over here. I mean, seriously? Come on Kai, you're made of stronger stuff than this."

Kai's face dropped. Uh oh. Cole started to worry he had played this all wrong, but then he saw the subtle flare of the nostrils and the hardening of the eyes, amber flecks starting to flash. Cole smiled with relief. Ah ha, there he was, the pyromaniac and hot head they all loved. He was still in there.

"I swear to the FSM, if you carry me over the road again I will barbeque you." Kai folded his arms indignantly, scowling at his brother. "Just because you've got all this superior strength does not give you the right to…"

"Are you two going to stand out here arguing all day, clogging up my doorway, or are you going to come in and sit down?"

Kai stopped in his tracks and turned to meet her eyes as she held the front door to the flagship Master Chen's open. Her face was stoic, unreadable, and her tone business like. Kai swallowed and mentally told himself to shut his embarrassingly wide-open mouth.

"Well, he is." Cole pushed the fire ninja forward, into the open door. "I am not. See you later, Fireboy."

"Wait, what?!" Kai turned to Cole quickly, eyes panicked, but Cole was already striding away.

"I'm off to see my dad. I'll see you back at the monastery later." Looking over his shoulder and giving his bewildered brother a wink, Cole turned down the avenue and disappearing from sight.

Skylor placed a menu in Kai's hands and gestured to a booth towards the back of the restaurant. The one that he had always elected to sit at all the times he had come to see her, over all these years. He sighed and walked over, scooting into the seat, rubbing his free hand nervously through his hair. Skylor gave him a weak smile and then turned away, walking into the kitchen.

 _Oh please don't tell me she's just going to ignore me still?_ The thought spun around his head, and he put his head in his hand. This had been a huge mistake, and he was not going to sit here and be humiliated again.

He moved to get up but was stopped in his tracks as two drinks were placed on the table and she slid gracefully into the seat opposite him.

"I guessed cherry cola would be ok?" She murmured, sliding his drink closer to him but unwilling to meet his gaze.

"Fine, thank you."

This tension was almost unbearable, and it was all Kai could do to stop himself from just sliding back out of the booth and leaving.

"I'm sorry."

He looked up sharply, taking in her downcast face. Shakily, he reached over to her chin and lifted her face up, inhaling softly as he saw the tears on her cheeks. He gently wiped at them.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for. I misjudged, and I'm sorry for that." His voice was quiet and sincere, and it was his turn to look down.

"You didn't misjudge anything. And it's ridiculous really, as I, I really enjoyed spending time with you. Getting to know you better, and, and…" She stopped, lifting her gaze to finally look him in the eyes. Those deep, brown eyes with those elemental flecks of amber, swirling like flecks of gold. Oh, she had missed him.

"…and, I've messed it all up. I should have text you back, answered your calls... But I just couldn't. Because I misled you. I thought I was better than that." She got up, making to leave, but Kai's hand on hers stopped her.

"You have never misled me. You are the most independent and courageous person…"

"You don't want me and all my emotional baggage."

"Oh I absolutely do! And that was my mistake, forgetting about your past. And how it shapes you." She inhaled, narrowing her eyes and watching him wearily through those long eyelashes. He stumbled on hastily.

"What I mean is, I get that you have had to be strong for yourself, by yourself, for too long. You have never needed anybody, because there has never been anyone there for you to need. But, if you'll allow it, you can rely on me. I'm not saying you'll need me, but I'll always be there to, like…to help you and support you. You know, stuff like that. Oh, I'm not very good at this." He looked down and his shoulders drooped. Why couldn't he just get the words out properly, he was bumbling as much as Jay…

"I love you to."

He didn't dare look up. He must have misheard that, so he shook his head and gazed out of the window.

"Kai. I love you to."

Nope, he had not misheard that. He met her gaze, unblinking and steady, searching.

"I panicked. And I am so sorry. I've handled this all completely wrong…"

He cut her off with a sudden kiss, the hustle and clattering of the busy restaurant melting away. She smiled, not breaking away but leaning in, taking in that faint charred cedar smell and the softness of his lips against hers. Eventually they broke apart and she leant her forehead against his, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. Finally looking up at him, she gave him a quick peck before handing him the menu again.

"So are you going to pick something to eat?"

Kai leant back, smirking and peeking over the menu at her.

"Well I only came to perv at the owner. I heard she's hot…" earning him a quick whack on the arm from the red headed beauty. His beauty. His girl.

* * *

 **And that's it! I really hope you guys have enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing it! It felt right to end this here, but I do have loads of ideas for a sequel and other little stories whirling around in my head. So thank you, and good bye for now!**


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